A Most Unusual First Date, and then some

A couple weeks ago, I got an email from a friend in NY asking if I was going to be in Austin as he was thinking of visiting a warmer climate. I replied yes, I would be in Austin until my trip to Paris. That piqued his attention, and he asked if I was travelling with anyone. I explained I was going on my own to visit my friend Irish Parisienne, and he asked if he could join me, admitting it was a crazy request. (This is all over email.) I agreed it was a crazy request, especially since we had never even gone on a first date! So he proposed coming to Austin, taking me out on a date or two, and if it went well, accompanying me to Paris, at least for a couple days. I said that sounded okay, but then when he went to book his flights, he realized if he didn't book all the cities at once, he would have unused tickets so he just decided to do the whole thing. I felt a bit pressured at this, but I didn't say anything other than to insist that he not "expect" anything from me and that getting his own accommodations was a requirement.

We had a couple dates in Austin as we had planned. He's very intelligent and I enjoyed showing him around a bit, but I didn't feel anything when he kissed me. (Just pecks, nothing sloppy.)

When we arrived in Paris, I was predictably jet-lagged and not wanting to do much sight-seeing the first day here. (I knew this would be the case and had explained that to him, however, since he was only here for 2 days -- had to get back for work -- he was eager to pack in as much as possible.) Things got a little tense, but we split up and did our own things.

The one thing the NYer really wanted to do while in Paris was Disneyland, so we spent the majority of New Year's Eve day there at the park. (See pictures below.) That night, Irish Parisienne got us invited along to a party of a friend's for New Year's Eve, and we arrived with our obligatory 10 Euros for food and a bottle of champagne each. It was a great party, and the Parisians were friendly and spoke English fluently. We drank much champagne, feasted on smoked salmon and other hors-d'ouvers and danced to American music. And then I kissed a Frenchman.

I think that pretty much took care of having to explain to the NYer that I wasn't interested in him as more than a friend. I did feel bad that I hadn't had "the talk" with him prior to that, and to be honest, I guess I chickened out. However, I didn't plan on kissing another guy, it just happened. (He was cute and nice and we just clicked.) Anyway...a bit of drama. More drama was involved as there was a French girl at the party who has quite a crush on the French guy I kissed. But said French guy insisted he isn't interested in her and only thinks of her as a friend, so something like this was bound to happen.

The NYer was very good about the whole thing. I apologized, but he said "no worries." He left New Year's day to go back to NYC as planned.

And me? I got a cute new Frenchman to show me around and take me to lunch on New Year's Day.